and why Scotland needs more of it
When I visited the Sakina Ladies Group at Al-Meezan House, the room pulsed with gentle gup-shup: low, companionable chatter, quick bursts of laughter, and the soft concentration of women bringing colour to life on organza with paint and hairdryers. Younger women addressed elders as Baji “elder sister” a word that holds respect, care, and belonging. Quite the contrast to white Western culture where many older women describe feeling invisible, Sakina offers the opposite: visibility, tenderness, and purpose.
What our grant made possible at Sakina
With a modest grant, Sakina runs a year-round rhythm of well-being and creativity: weekly mixed exercise led by a trained instructor (think yoga, Pilates, meditation, body balance) and a rolling programme of art therapy and creative learning—from block printing to textiles and glass painting—alongside herbal-remedy walks in local parks and visits to museums and cultural spaces. These aren’t “extras”; they are proven ways to lift confidence, reduce isolation, and support mental and physical health.
Sakina is rooted in Glasgow’s southside and primarily serves older Black and Minority Ethnic women—many navigating language barriers, bereavement, or long-standing isolation—through a weekly Tuesday gathering that welcomes many members. There’s always a waiting list.
The value for money is striking: a one-year budget of £4,999 covers instructors, artists, herbal-walk facilitation, transport for day trips, volunteer expenses and light admin—stretching every pound to reach as many women as possible.
Critically, the team listens and measures. Women are consulted in the languages that work for them, feedback is captured after sessions and at year-end, and progress is tracked around confidence, skills, cultural participation, and well-being. That’s why sessions feel exactly right for the women who come—and why the impact is consistently described as “transformational.”
What I witnessed
I saw exercise with hand-weights give way to delicate painting; I watched craft tables turn into mini-production lines of warmth for others—gifts made by women who know what loneliness feels like and refuse to let their neighbours feel it too. The love and respect were almost tangible. Friendship is the first outcome; confidence and joy follow.
Why the Women’s Fund for Scotland is asking for your help
Sakina is one beautiful example among many. With your support, WFS can say “yes” to more groups like this—in Glasgow and across Scotland—so that women and girls aged 12+ can heal, thrive and rise in spaces that fit their culture, language, and lives.
Here’s what your donation fuels—at Sakina and beyond:
- Healing: safe, women-only spaces where skilled facilitators blend movement, creativity, and peer support to reduce isolation and improve well-being.
- Thriving: practical skills and cultural connections—museum visits, heritage activities, nature-based learning—that build confidence and open doors.
- Rising: leadership and voice—women shaping their own programmes, offering mutual aid, and strengthening community bonds across generations.
Make room for the next woman on the waiting list
A grant as small as £4,999 funded an entire year of movement, art, nature, and culture for dozens of women—and still demand exceeds capacity. Imagine what we could unlock together, from girls’ creative well-being groups in rural towns to culturally safe mother-daughter circles in our cities.
Give to the Women’s Fund for Scotland today.
Help us open more doors like Sakina’s—so that every woman and girl who needs a place to belong can find one.
Help us to bring a little Sakina — peace, calm, contentment — into more lives
